Maddison milestone match crucial for Rotherham Titans

Rotherham’s most experienced forward, Barney Maddison, 27, is all set to achieve a notable personal distinction against Nottingham at Clifton Lane on Saturday.

It will be his 75th league appearance for the club, and considering the importance of the Championship clash - a win would surely keep the Titans up - arguably it’s Maddison’s biggest home game in his five seasons at Rotherham.

Whether he’s playing in the second row or as a flanker, Maddison has been frequently praised the quality of his performances.

“All of us know how big the Nottingham game is.We need the points and now have the opportunity to put right the wrongs we saw at London Welsh in our last game,” says Maddison.

“Going into this game the vibes are good. We’ve had two weeks of hard training and with four Championship matches left, we are full of confidence.

“Our new coach, Justin Burnell, who used to play in the forwards himself, has been a massive boost to the pack. His knowledge is huge. His training sessions are sharp, short and intense.

“He has been concentrating on increasing our work rate as a team and we’ve been working on producing quick ball at the breakdown.

“Justin’s changed a few things. Things have been simplified and he’s been a big help to Steve Salvin, the forwards’ coach.

“Nottingham are a well drilled side and we will have to be at our. But we have targeted this home game and the last one at Clifton Lane against London Scottish as ones in which points must be won.”

Rotherham will need to reproduce the fighting performance which defeated Nottingham by 17-11 in the East Midlands in November- a victory that owed much to the aggression of the pack in which Maddison was prominent.

Titans are 10th in the Championship with 33 points with Nottingham sixth on 45, but the teams have a similar record, so a close match can be expected.